Day 6 Wickenbug Az. to Tempe Az.

Day 6.  We went from Wickenburg Az. to Tempe, Az. and it went from the country to the city - all in one day.  The start was a cup of coffee, a scone, and some pretty flat miles.
At least we did see some trains, and had a great look at the Burlington Northern.  Very nice to see a busy railroad.

The ride into Phoenix was, well, rough.  The road from Wickenburg to Phoenix was pretty flat but all the way down the traffic was busy, aggressive and bikes on the road were not "normal".  Going through the communities was a bit weird as well.  There were middle-aged houses with sparkling gravel "lawns", all sorts of "lawn features" like carefully sculpted cacti, but NO people.  None.  Then, going along the canal was interesting too.  The canal was full of grey water, but the "river" it ran next to was empty although it looked like it flooded in the last day or two.

Then, as you rode along there were people "camped out" along the canal with grocery carts of "stuff".

They were camping under lawyer ad signs too!  Very "Ying-Yang" to me. But at least the lawyers were cheap! I like to discount accidents too.

It was not all bad though.  There were places to get "condensed" bike rides over the mountains - like this;

Also, there were people out using the canal environment - riding and painting pictures.  The picture had a lot more green than I saw, but that is the wonderful thing about being able to create the pictures you want - you can add color! Just like my memory of a trip like this, it gets better with age.

So, tomorrow we head out of Phoenix/Tempe/Mesa Az. and start up the mountains.  Fewer cars, more trees, and camping!
Paul C